Ciao a tutti –
MAKE YOUR RESERVATION FOR
THE FIRST ENGLISH MEETING of the 2020 PROGRAM YEAR
THIS COMING WEDNESDAY, JAN 8
at St. Patrick’s Church – Social Hall, 815 E Edgar Street, Seattle
Our January presenter is Andrea Aldrich, a Dante Alighieri member as well as founder of and tour guide at Travel in Italia. Andrea’s topic is Italian Gardens. Through photographs and narrative Andrea will lead us on a voyage through the history and the cultural shifts that influenced the design of some of the most incredible gardens in the world. Our journey will take us from the Italian Renaissance to the twenty-first century.
Andrea Aldrich has been guiding small groups to her favorite destinations in Italy for more than ten years. She has lived and studied in Florence, speaks fluent Italian and has traveled extensively throughout the regions of Italy. A background as an artist and teacher has been instrumental in her ability to develop tours that give a greater understanding of this country’s rich art, culture and history.
Her presentation on Italian Gardens this Wednesday should be just perfect for brightening up the gloom and damp of our Seattle winter.
DINNER RESERVATIONS
The presentation starts at 7:30 pm. As usual, we will have a Pre-Dante Pasta Dinner, prepared by our members, starting at 6:30 pm. If you plan to come for the dinner at 6:30 pm as well as for the presentation at 7:30 pm, please make your reservation by 5:00 pm Monday January 6 by:
- clicking on this DINNER RESERVATION link or,
- calling our Reservation Line at our NEW number, (206) 289-0419 or
- emailing your request to our NEW reservation email, reserve@danteseattle.org.
Let us know how many are in your party. This will help our volunteer cooks know how much pasta to prepare.
The cost of the dinner is $8 per person or $15 per couple. There is no cost to attend only the presentation.
If you are coming to dinner, you are encouraged to bring along an antipasto, dolce or vino to share.
The Hall is open at 6:00 pm. So come early to socialize, have a glass of wine and some antipasti.
MEETING LOCATION
The meeting as usual will be in the Parish Social Hall at St. Patrick’s Church, 815 E Edgar St., Seattle.
To reach St. Patrick’s from the North, follow I-5 S. Take exit 168A for Boylston Ave toward Roanoke St. Merge onto Boylston, turn left at light onto E Roanoke St. Turn left at the first cross street onto Harvard Ave E.
To reach St. Patrick’s from the South, follow I-5 N. Take exit 168A for Lakeview Blvd E. Turn left onto Lakeview Blvd E, and continue onto Boylston Ave E. Turn right at the light onto E Roanoke St. Turn left at the first cross street onto Harvard Ave E.
The parking lot will be on your right off Harvard. And the stairway down to the door to the Social Hall is located at the parking lot level in back of the Church, off the parking lot.
Feel free to come early to help set up and start visiting. And, in any case, please come.
OTHER DANTE NEWS
Our annual Wine Dinner is scheduled for Wednesday, January 22. Look for more information in an email coming your way this weekend.
The Dante membership year goes from January to December each year. Dues are $40 for a single membership and $50 for a family membership. Your dues help support the many activities of the Dante Alighieri Society of Washington and allow us to keep our event prices as low as possible. All donations are greatly appreciated.
If you haven’t renewed your 2020 membership yet, we’ll have a membership table set up at the English Meeting on Wednesday. You can renew there.
And you are now able to renew online as well on our website: https://danteseattle.org/join-the-dante-alighieri-society-of-washington/ .
A presto –
Dan DeMatteis,
President, Dante Alighieri Society of Washington
Gabriella Vagnoli was born in Pisa, Tuscany, home of the famous Leaning Tower. She grew up in a multicultural family thanks to her Brazilian mom and remembers teaching Italian for the first time as a child to her Brazilian cousins. She obtained a Laurea in English and Spanish Language and Literature at the Università degli Studi di Pisa and during her college years spent a year in the University of Reading, UK, studying mainly the works of Shakespeare. After obtaining a Certificate as a Teacher of Italian (DITALS II) at the Università per Stranieri di Siena, she has taught in a full immersion school in Florence, a children's full immersion program in Chicago and a Community College in Illinois.
Tiziana was born and raised in Sardinia, a beautiful Italian island in the Mediterranean Sea. She has always been passionate about foreign languages and cultures, and studied French and German at the Scuola Superiore Interpreti e Traduttori in Milan, where she obtained her first Foreign Languages and Interpreter BA degree. She then pursued her MA in English and German Language and Literature at IULM, one of the most prestigious universities in Milan, Italy for Language and Communication studies.
Nicla is a native of Napoli, Italy. She has a Laurea in Materie Letterarie (degree in humanities) and a Laurea in Pedagogia (degree in Education) from the Università degli Studi di Cassino. She earned her M.A in Italian and her PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of Washington. She has published articles and book chapters on gender and theater as well as politics and religion in Counter-Reformation Italy and in the last years, has been teaching Italian literature, language, and culture in different institutions. In addition to teaching in our program, Nicla is authorized to cover the role of esaminatrice and intervistatrice in our PLIDA Examination Board.